Football
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AFC Cup: New-look BFC look to reprise old glories

Bengaluru FC v April 25 SC

AFC Cup Inter-Zone Semi-final, 1st Leg

Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru, 7 pm onwards

The big picture

Bengaluru FC (BFC) begin life as an Indian Super League (ISL) club by picking up from where they left off as an I-League team - representing India in the AFC Cup, a tournament they made the final of in 2016. A lot has changed in the BFC setup since then - most of it brought about by their decision to join the ISL fold -- forcing coach Albert Roca to rebuild his team around some of the heroes from last year's campaign like striker Sunil Chhetri and Spanish defender Juanan Gonzalez. The absence of another regular from the club since inception, English defender John Johnson, would pose a challenge if BFC have to win this two-legged semi-final, which will then set up an Inter-Zone final against either Ceres Negros of Philippines or Tajikistan's Istiklol. The winner of that clash will then feature in this year's AFC Cup final in November. 

For BFC the emphasis on strengthening the defence was visible during the ISL draft, where Roca went in for full-backs Subhasish Bose and Rahul Bheke, as well as I-League winner Zohmingliana 'Zotea' Ralte. Former BFC players like Alwyn George and Lenny Rodrigues were bought back, while Spaniards Dimas Delgado and Toni Dovale have been brought in to strengthen the midfield.

Last year's campaign was powered by Alvaro Rubio's ability to hold the midfield together and control the pace of the game; can any of the newcomers perform a similar role? That, and whether Roca employs a back three like he has done for most of this year, could be the keys to BFC's performance in their first competitive match with a new-look team.

April 25 SC of North Korea are hoping to make their maiden outing in the AFC Cup a memorable one. It has been a thrilling ride for the champions of the DPR Korea League already, having pipped fellow Pyongyang-based Kigwancha on goal difference to make the Inter-Zone Semi-final, where they are probably at an advantage playing a new-look Bengaluru FC (BFC) away for the first leg.

Midfielder Il-bom brings with himself the experience of having played club football away in Serbia, something he has in common with goalkeeper Ri Kwang-il and midfielder Myong Cha-hyon. It is a young team, with an average age of less than 23, but the coach says they have been playing together for a long time. Four of the players are part of the national team setup as well, with Il-bom, Kwang-il and Cha-hyon joined by the AFC Cup top-scorer and star striker Kim Ju-song.

In the spotlight

One of the key developments in the last week has been BFC signing India international goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, and that has plugged the only weak link in the team since Amrinder Singh's retention by Mumbai City FC of the ISL. He combines good decision-making in coming out for collecting the ball alongside exceptional agility for a man well over six feet tall and would be expected to play a key role in his first club match on Indian soil since 2013. 

April 25 are one of the youngest squads in the AFC Cup, with an average age of less than 23, and the excellence in their ranks is best exemplified by 22-year-old striker Kim Yu-Song, the tournament top-scorer thus far with nine goals from four matches. Eight of those goals came against Mongolian club Erchim, and his prolific record of scoring for the national team across all age-groups must mark him out as the key player in coach Hwang Yong-sun's team.

Quotes

"It was difficult for the first week. We all cried...and then we got back on to the ground. It does feel like a new squad, just like the first year. In the last three years, almost 80 percent of the team was the same. So it does feel different. But all the players that have come in have come in with good mentality. We ideally would have wanted more games where we would have played 90 minutes. That period we were working on our fitness, but none of us could play 90 minutes. Tomorrow is the most important game"

 - Sunil Chhetri on the new look team

"Our team is one of the strongest in DPR Korea, and we are happy to be here in Bengaluru. We think Bengaluru is also a very strong team and has many good players.We are looking to be positive. It should be a good game. Our team has no foreign players. Our players are good enough, no?"

- April 25 head coach Hwang Yong-song

Stats and trivia

• BFC haven't lost a home game at the Kanteerava Stadium in the AFC Cup since a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta'zim in March 2016. They have won seven home matches on the bounce since, including a 3-1 win over Johor in the AFC Cup semi-finals last year.

• In six matches of the group stages, BFC scored seven goals and conceded six. In contrast April 25, who were placed alongside Kigwancha, also of North Korea, and Mongolia's Erchim, scored 14 goals and conceded just three goals in their four matches in the group stages.  

• Further, of BFC's six scorers during the group stages, only Sunil Chhetri and Nishu Kumar are still with the team since they opted to play in the ISL. Of the remaining four, Marjan Jugovic has since been released by the team, John Johnson will not be available for the AFC Cup, while Sandesh Jhingan and Seiminlen Doungel are with other ISL teams now.

• North Korea's national team featured four April 25 players in their most-recent outing, a fourth place finish at the King's Cup in Thailand in July: goalkeeper Ri-Kwang Il, striker Kim Ju-song, and midfielders Myong Cha-hyon and So Hyun-uk.

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